What good is Beatrice anyway??

So, here we are (cat and all): first week of August and hubby is already at work (actually since the last week of July). We loaded our small SUV to the gills, and completely equipped with as many liquids as possible (cooking, drinking, cleaning and otherwise - did you know moving companies do not pack those??) we headed out of town, leaving behind 107 degree weather (so long, suckers!!!! ) Yes, I'm fully aware I'll be singing a different tune come winter...

Anyway, can you believe I forgot to bring jackets for the kids!!!! Never would have thought I'd need it in August! But it was 65 degrees this morning! And tonight we will be making smores on the fire place outside!!! It's so cool here!! It was down to 60 degrees last night! Anyway, we got to WI on a Monday and already saw two houses that evening and at least one every night since then. Then, over the weekend, we hit several open houses and felt like by the following week we would be ready to make a decision and perhaps decide what to make an offer on.

Our cat Truman and I had our first encounter with wildlife that very first week. I was peacefully enjoying a cup of coffee on the deck with Truman when some yellow jackets swarmed his food and stung him. Not thinking much of it (did I tell you I'm a city girl??) I went to retrieve his food and promptly got stung myself! Ouch! Well, armed with my newest issue of National Geographic (did you know that there are more pyramids in the Sudan than in Egypt?), after I calmed down and located my Neosporin, I went outside again and extracted my revenge by smashing 4 of the little buggers. When my knight in shining armor got home later, not to be outdone by the little woman, he decided to avenge me yet further by killing 5 more (yeah, I initially reported 4 but he corrected me)! Ah, the world is a good place again! Well, more on our country life adventures later!

So far the kids are having a good time, enjoying going outside to help our friend in her garden, spotting deer, and chasing little frogs (they're everywhere!). The house hunt is taking most of our evenings. During the day I got lost (despite our GPS who can't seem to locate a satellite out in the country half of the time) and took an extra hour just to find a supermarket. But I'm getting better and today I didn't even bother turning Beatrice (our GPS) on - maybe the rest will do her good! Meanwhile, every time I get lost I seem to find a new lake! Very pretty around here!

Well, no internet access at home at this point, so Beatrice (in an attempt to redeem herself) located the local library and took us straight to it. I've been spending a couple hours there just about everyday with the kids (it's our daily outing). Our internet is hooked to our local phone number (the one in Texas) so it will take us a while to figure out how to get that to work here. Meanwhile, my cell is the best way to get hold of us.

Our house in Texas sold in six weeks (really fast considering the market conditions) and the closing is scheduled for Aug 22,. The movers are coming in that day to pack and take everything on the road the next day. Randy will be there but I'll stay behind so the kids and I don't have to travel that far again.

Meanwhile the house search continues and we're hopeful! I've been telling everyone I know in Texas that if they venture up North and come see us, I promise all the beer and cheese your heart desires!